And,

I just ate the best mango of my life.

It is all about the tea

Many thanks are owed to family and friends for redirecting a substantial amount of tea back to Taiwan and more specifically, to me.

I could write at length of my tea travails, but suffice it to say any expectations I may have had that good tea would be difficult to come by have been far exceeded. Over time I found myself drinking less tea, not enjoying the tea I was drinking nearly as much, and wondering if I was crazy to have ever liked it as much as I once had or if over consumption had simply taken its inevitable toll.

And then the box came.

Actually it was a letter, and it was in our mailbox for more than a month before I received it (I do not have a key to our post). But that letter was my ticket to better days and I toted it to the post office where I waited patiently in what seemed to be old school desks while they searched for what seemed to be a very long time for my box.

I affixed it to my bicycle and rode home very quickly.

Actually, I was quite nervous. My gradual disengagement with tea was not due to any lack of effort on my part. My searches for better tea stretched from Taipei to Tainan; searches for better water sources led me to mountains, through canyons, and to different purifying stations around the city. Different tea utensils and preparation methods were tried, and failed to deliver. As I opened my package I was preparing myself for the worst. How could it be that this tea from Seattle really made all the difference?

I sat down and heated the water. I rinsed everything and put the leaves in the tea pot. Finally, I filled the pot with water and put the lid on.

Interesting, I thought. The replacement of the tea pot lid did not cause the water in the pot to overflow, as almost always happened since my arrival. Due to lack of practice as well as my bad nerves, my first steeping was on the lighter side of perfect. My first reaction was muted and I was thankful I had numbed my expectations beforehand. But of course, poured more water in.

And, of course, it really was all about the tea. It was like being released from prison, or waking up from a bad dream in which the world had gone to nuclear war. It was as if my gradual appreciation of good tea, built over time and tastings, were being crammed into a period of eight or nine seconds, from the first scent to the aftertaste.

I steeped it a third time, with an irrepressible smile.

...

(In fact, after more thorough scrutiny, I am convinced that were I to collect data the (lack of) water overflow phenomenon would be statistically significant.)

May was never cool to begin with

Blogees, I am heretofore committing myself to brevity and conciseness in the hope that posting will not induce such a feeling of guilt as a result of detracting from the time I have to write silly pictures on paper over and over again in the hope that they may suddenly, spontaneously, and in an orderly fashion, find a resting place in the memory banks of my brain. Yes, brevity and conciseness.

Today brought a, as far as I know, specifically Taiwanese phenomenon to a new level of phenomenal. A quick introduction is in order.

Pot is illegal. This is true in most places, so not a big deal. But it is really illegal here. And under martial law illegal things are more illegal than they are in say, Seattle. Taiwan is now under constitutional law, but this legacy of strict prohibition seems to live on - more or less.

Despite its prohibition, the old Mary Jane seems to have captured the imagination of old and young alike. The emblematic leaf is found on shopping bags, bumper stickers, store signs, and the like. It is often on clothing.

Here is one photo:



Now, I must not assume everybody is ignorant of what this silhouette is. The product is, in fact, attainable if you look hard enough. But when the occasional old person becomes a walking advertisement, one starts to wonder.

My general conclusion has been that it is seen as a cool American/Western thing, is widely associated with Bob Marley, and does not necessarily indicate a political or social stance. This is not dissimilar to the clothing worn by some middle aged fathers and other young teenage girls, covered in large block letters to the tune of "FUCK". I think the benefit of the doubt is in order here.

However, the marijuana phenomenon, while having laid low for several months, resurfaced today at the school where I teach. I walked in through the sliding glass door to be greeted by an over-sized t-shirt with an over-sized pot leaf printed on the front, accompanied by an "I love marijuana; it's good for me," something or other.

This is an interesting intersection of culture. This particular lady spent a combined nine years in both Canada and the States. I know she knows what pot is. And, yet, she seemed to take advantage of the fact that people here do not know what pot is/pretend to not know what pot is/do not care what pot is/do not really know what is going on... by wearing a giant pot leaf to class. But, it was just that, no one noticed - or they did not care. At all. I mean, I don't know. Would a big beer bottle be appropriate? I think heroine needles are too far, right? Are white lines of cocaine on a black background permissible? I am finding myself having to recalibrate norms.

And at first, for about a minute, I tried to ignore it, in the same way I would almost not notice it if somebody was wearing that shirt in downtown Seattle. But the fact that we were in a kids' English school made this difficult, and the combination of drugs, children, illegality, ignorance, and knowledge would not let me be, and so now this "phenomenon" is back on my mind again, and I really do not get it. So, whammo, blog post. Any ideas?